Ivica and Jones Lead Men's Volleyball Past NJIT, 3-0

Nicola Ivica posted 16 kills and seven digs in the win
(photo courtesy of DSPics.com).
NEWARK, N.J. - Sophomore Matt Jones recorded 20 kills as
the Crimson downed NJIT, 3-0, to pick up the team's first win of
the season at the Fleisher Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Nikola Ivica played an important role both offensively
and defensively, as he recorded 16 kills and committed just three
errors on 23 attack attempts and also notched seven digs in the
match.

Ivica recorded a kill for the Crimson to grab the opening point in
the first set and Harvard never looked back. Attack errors plagued
the Highlanders, and the Crimson offense quickly built a 10-5 lead.
A kill by Ivica and two consecutive attack errors by NJIT spurred
an 8-2 Crimson run that gave Harvard a 10 point lead with the score
at 20-10. The Highlanders had a burst of offense led by Christian
Puszies to close the Harvard lead to six, but a kill by Jones
stopped the host’s run and propelled Harvard to a 30-21 set
win.

The second set played out much like the first, as Harvard jumped
out to a 10-6 lead following a service ace by senior Soren Rosier
and an Ivica kill. The Crimson used several offensive spurts to
quickly bring the lead to 23-16. Harvard used a 4-1 run, capped by
a Rosier kill, to claim a 30-24 win.

The third set was very close in the beginning, as the teams traded
points and a kill by NJIT’s Puszies gave the Highlanders its
first lead of the afternoon. Senior Gil Weintraub used a kill to
put a stop to the Highlanders offense, as the Crimson scored three
unanswered points to regain a 9-7 lead. Harvard never trailed from
there, and later went on a 6-0 run to bring the lead to 19-10. The
teams again traded points, but the Highlanders never got within
six. A kill by Weintraub gave Harvard a 30-22 win to capture the
match win.

Weintraub handed out 47 assists and recorded two kills.
Defensively, freshman Derek Jansma and Ivica led the team in digs,
with seven and eight, respectively. Rosier recorded seven blocks in
the match.

Harvard led in every statistical category in the match, as the
team had 53 kills, eight service aces, 30 digs and eight total
blocks.

The Crimson returns home to host Springfield Tuesday, March 9 at 7
p.m.